Enter into a World of Darkness
by Too Dark For Light
Summary: Set in the late sixteenth century, Arthur Kirkland wakes after a surprise attack and must now learn how to live the life of darkness. Includes Vampire!England and Devil!America. Rated M for violence and themes. The prologue story to the Chronicles of SMK. Completely AU.
1. Preface

_June 28__th__, 1594  
_  
_

_Darkness… blankness… death…_

Those three words were all that Arthur could currently comprehend. After the pain had finally ceased, this was all that remained for him. He felt himself falling; falling deep into a sea of complete emptiness. He saw nothing, felt nothing, _was_ nothing...

The body of this man was thrown against the foot of a tree right beside a small forest, covered in his own blood whish was still slowly oozing out of the two small puncture holes on his neck. His clothes were covered in partially dried blood, and the sticky red substance was matted in his blonde hair.

It was the dead of the night, and the light of the moon greatly accentuated his deathly pale skin which contrasted greatly with the dark crimson colour of the blood which stained his lips and surrounding areas. It was a truly hideous sight for anyone to possibly witness.

The incident was obviously quite recent, but the effects were all the same.

He drew not a single breath, and his heart didn't have a beat to miss. There were no signs of life left to be observed.

_Arthur Kirkland was dead. _

_(( Hey guys~! :D_

I've been wanting to write this for a while now. This whole story is the prologue to my Vampire!Arthur's story, and I hope you enjoy it! I'll update the next chapter very soon, so I hope it's okay :) ))  



	2. The Final Awakening

It was nearly midnight when the black haired devil found the mangled body.

There had been something in the air that night, and he had immediately sensed that something was wrong. The scent of blood was fresh in the air, a scent that he wasn't exactly fond of. The devil had been on his customary flight around the area, and it took him only a matter of moments to locate the body lying within the woods. Things like this rarely occurred, especially not now during the European witch fights. Supernatural beings like himself had to express extreme and constant caution.

As soon as he caught sight of the body, he swooped down, landing only a few feet away. Retracting his leather wings into his back, he continued to stare down at the body which had obviously been murdered only recently. He let out an audible sigh. He would have to clean this up; leaving bodies around in these parts was incredibly dangerous and stupid, and he had to avoid detection at all costs. He took a step closer, a highly unamused expression on his face as he took in the sight before him. The blonde before him was almost completely soaked in blood. There seemed to be no wounds though, which was uncanny due to the ridiculous amount of dried blood that stained both his face and neck. The devil almost felt sorry for him, in a way. He had no time for feelings though; this is had to be done quickly before the hunters advanced.

As soon as he reached forward to pick up the body, he sensed something terribly wrong.

The blonde's eyes shot open, revealing a pair of deep crimson irises which gleamed in the light of the moon.

After what seemed like a long, indefinite amount of time, Arthur came back to the world in a complete rush of consciousness. His eyes were wide open as he stared up into the sky for a moment, temporarily distracted by the stars as they shone like perfect diamonds in the darkness. It was funny, he had never remembered it to be like this, so clear and wonderful. He sat up straight, and then found himself looking up at the tall figure before him, an almost curious look in his eye.

The man before him had almost unruly black hair and bright blue eyes which shone out like crystals, piercing him. His clothes were completely black, and nothing like what he had ever seen before, a style of which had never been worn. Arthur raised is eyes in confusion, suddenly feeling extremely uneasy about everything.

It was horribly obvious that something was wrong.

Arthur looked down on himself for a short moment, noticing all the blood which stained his skin and his brown clothes. He had no recollection of previous events, of how he had come to be like he was. He was torn out of his self-observation when he heard a clear voice, presumably belonging to the man standing in front of him.

"Well you looked messed up!" he said, and Arthur looked up and saw that he was smirking. He frowned, and backed up from the black haired man.

Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but yet again noticed something strange. He swished his tongue around his teeth, and his eyes widened slightly. In a maddened, confused rush, he brought his hand up to his mouth and felt his teeth, horrified to discover his canine teeth had increased in length. _Fangs,_ he thought, an extremely worried look on his face.

In a spur of the moment, he looked back up at the man, "W-who are you?" he whispered, backing up even further.

The man just laughed however, and just followed Arthur as he tried to scramble away. "So you _are_ alive! Man, I thought you were dead to the world."

Arthur did not have time for chitter chatter, and frowned angrily, "Answer me you git!" He didn't know why he was acting like this, what was making him so angry all of a sudden. It wasn't like Arthur to lose his cool at someone this quickly, and it just scared him even more.

Looking taken aback, the black headed man raised his eyebrows. "Angry are we?" he snickered, "The name's Alfred; Alfred Jones. Now let me ask, who do you think you are to talk to me like that?"

The blonde was in no fit state to answer such petty questions. He was more worried about himself at that current moment, and that itching pain forming in the back of his mouth, one that was steadily getting worse by the very second. He was still on the ground, simply staring up at the man name Alfred before him. It was then, while he was caught up in the other's gaze, that he noticed something important was missing. He brought a hand up to his heart, and tried to find a beat. He waited, and waited, with no response. He frantically brought his hand up to his neck, trying to find a pulse. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He glared up at Alfred, "What in God's name have you done to me?" he shouted.

Alfred took another step forward, a smirk on his face. "Well well, what did I just hear? You're blaming _me_ for this? You got the wrong person!" he put his hands up in the air in attempt to seem innocent.

Arthur, of course, bought absolutely none of his act. "Stop lying to me!" he shouted at the top of his voice, edging on deliriousness, "Tell me what the hell has happened to me! I know you know," he pointed up at Alfred.

Alfred, it seemed, was just finding this whole situation completely amusing. "Dude, I've done nothing to you. Now keep your voice down and stop shouting…. They'll find us…"

"Who's 'they'?" Arthur shouted, despite the other's warnings. Anger and confusion didn't fit well together in his mind.

"The hunters. You know, the witch hunts? What, do you like under a rock or something?"

Of course Arthur had heard of the witch hunts; they were all around Europe, hunting out the demonic spirits of the world and destroying them all. It was then that he looked closer at the Alfred's face, noticing the small black horns on the top of his head. He let out a gasp. "Get away, you fowl beast!" he got up on his feet at a speed he didn't even know anyone could be capable of. Yet another thing that unnerved the crap out of him. He had no idea what was wrong, but _something_ was off about himself.

Alfred's eyes widened for a second before he tilted his head back in laughter. "Dude! Do you even know what you are?"

So this was all a laughing matter to this 'Alfred' person, was it? Arthur clenched his fists in complete, uncontrolled rage. "I asked you this before! What the hell is wrong with me. You know!"

Alfred's face turned serious as he slowly stepped up to Arthur, looking down on him. He was taller, but only by a few inches, and Arthur couldn't help but notice this. Suddenly, this had no longer become something to laugh at like a crazy person. "You're… new to this, aren't you?" he said softly, tilting his head to the side as he examined Arthur.

"New to what? Please!" he has resorted to begging, it was becoming that ridiculous.

"Calm your farm! I'll tell, you, just give me a second… first, what is your name? I don't even know you at all…"

Arthur wanted to slap him. "I don't have time for pleasantries!" he said this still in an angry tone, but not yet shouting. His next words were quieter, as his revealed himself, "My name is Arthur Kirkland…."

"Well, Arthur…" he said, placing his arms on Arthur's shoulders. "Promise me you'll me quiet and I'll tell you what I know…."

Shrugging away from the other's grip, he nodded, his hands still clenched tightly together. He couldn't help but noticed once more the pain building up in his throat, as if he was… _thirsty_ for something. "I promise…" he said, looking into the other's eyes. There was no point fighting now, he needed answers, and this was how he was going to get them.

Letting out a sigh, Alfred stepped back, "Dude, you're a vampire."

For a few moments after that, there was a complete silence between the two of them as Arthur let the words in. He didn't know much at all about vampires, only recently had he heard the word thrown around a few times due to all the supernatural hunts that had been going on of recent. He tried to remain calm after this, looking down at the ground as he questioned the other, "How did this happen to me….?"

"Uh, I dunno, but it wasn't me. I'm a devil, not a vampire… only your lot can turn each other. It's like a disease, I guess…. Sorry dude, you lucked out here."

"You're a…. devil?" he exclaimed, almost in shock. Again, he had heard of them in stories, but had never believed something as unholy as this to exist. Arthur was a strong Christian, and from his knowledge, a devil was an inhuman beast who resided in hell, tempting humans into sin. There was only one conclusion he could come to with all of this, "I'm dreaming, right?"

Alfred couldn't help but let out yet another short laugh, "Dude, you're not dreaming. This is reality. Someone has taken away your humanity, and there is no way of going back. I found you lying here dead, ya know…."

Arthur's eyes widened, "I… died?" Of course, that explained the lack of heart beat… Surely this couldn't all be real.

"Yeah, I guess you could call it that. Now you're… undead? I think that's the word for it. That's how vampires are made, you know…" he sighed, probably fearing more questions on Arthur's part, "Look, I'll explain everything _after_ we've gotten you clean up. You obviously have no idea what you've gotten into…"

"No, I don't…." he said, looking back at the devil standing before him. "I don't want this… I want everything to be back to normal. I have a family, friends… " he would have continued on, but Alfred stopped him.

"You don't have them anymore. Listen to me…" he said, completely serious now as he stepped forward, his bright blue eyes piercing into Arthur's, "Drop it. You can never be with them again, it's unsafe…"

Arthur's eyes widened, "Why isn't it safe? I can't just leave them there!"

Alfred stepped back, and evil smirk on his face, "You honestly have no idea what you are, do you? Of what you are capable of?" he let out a dramatized sigh, his palm meeting his forehead, "Dude, I did _not_ sign up to teach a newborn vampire how to survive."

Anger flooded back through Arthur, "Then don't! Go away! I don't need a git like you to show me anything." He turned away from Alfred and began walking away.

"Oh no you don't," Alfred called out, letting his wings slide out of his back, "You're coming with me whether you like it or not," and as he said this, he gripped onto the confused, newborn vampire despite his screams and struggles of disagreement and flew off into the skies.

_((This is my first fanfiction in years, so I hope it's okay xD I'm still working on getting the formatting right, so excuse some weird things that may occur. I hope you find this enjoyable, I know I do._

_And just a future warning, I may get some historical things mixed up, so please don't shoot me for my failures xD ))_


	3. Welcome to the Real World

Arthur Kirkland had always been afraid of heights, but at this point, being two hundred metres in the sky was the least on his many problems.

Firstly, he was struggling with great difficulty to get his mind around the events that had just occurred. He couldn't recall how he had ended up like this, and could only remember blackness, like his memory had been totally erased. When he tried to think back, everything was blurry, horrible and dark, and made absolutely no sense. There had been pain, that's all he could get out of it, and the amount of blood that he had found himself in had been astonishing, signifying that something beyond terrible had occurred only hours ago.

Secondly, he was worried about this Alfred person, the devil. He couldn't be trusted, and that was obvious to Arthur. Just the way he spoke and acted got to Arthur in bad way. To top things off, he was a devil, only one of the supernatural beings that his very country had been trying to fight against. Arthur could not allow this, could not allow any of this.

_Vampire… vampire… vampire…_ the word bounced around his mind as he tried to comprehend what this actually meant. It was such an absurd statement; of _course_ he wasn't a vampire, that would be ridiculous. However, the more he thought about it, the more it added up. He hardly knew a thing about vampires, but he did know the simple things. They were dead creatures which had been somehow brought back to life due to some supernatural cause, and no matter how hard Arthur tried, he could not feel his heart beating inside his chest. He tried to dismiss the thought, at least for a moment.

The unexplainable hunger was growing stronger. It wasn't like anything he had ever experienced; more like an emptiness from within, something which he needed to fulfil. Yet again, this was another thing he didn't want to think of, something that would go away if he didn't think about it.

He was wrong.

Arthur closed his eyes for the rest of the trip through the skies. He could hear Alfred trying to shoot some conversation towards him, but he ignored every word. He couldn't focus on anything except for the pain in his throat which worsened each second. He hung there in the other's arms, not even moving or trying to fight back at all.

After a few more minutes of sustained flight, Alfred began lowering them down into a small, darkened alley way in a village, presumably nearer to London then he had been before. As the devil landed, he placed Arthur down first before standing right in front of him. Nothing seemed the same to Arthur anymore; his senses had increased. He could hear everything, right from the crying of a baby to the laughs and screams of the people who had drowned themselves in their liquor. It filled his mind all at once, and he wanted it to end… for it all to just stop.

He stared at Alfred; a deep, hungry stare. Alfred took a step back, "Whoaa, dude, are you okay?" at most he looked worried, like Arthur was going to pounce him.

_Hunger…._ He shook his head, his eyes moving from the bright baby blue eyes down to the pulsating vein in his neck. He clenched his fist again, "Alfred…" he didn't know what to say. Was this hunger? It felt like it, yet in a warped way. He had never experienced a hunger quite like this, but right now, he needed something desperately.

Alfred just back at him, shrugging his shoulders as if to hide his neck, "Uhhh… shit…" his eyes widened slightly, "You're thirsty, aren't you?"

_Thirst_... Arthur guessed it could also be expressed as that. He nodded quickly, taking a step forward, his eyes almost glowing a deep crimson red. He didn't know what he was doing, couldn't control these sudden instincts that were flooding through his body like an unseen force. The devil's question had been answered by all of this.

"You're not having any of my blood, if that's what you're thinking… uh… look," he sighed audibly, looking done at the ground, "I can help you out okay? Promise me you'll be careful okay? We can't get caught leaving behind bodies…"

_Vampire… Hunger… Thirst… Blood… _All these words seemed to connect together, sending his mind into a frenzy. He needed blood, and fast. He took in a breath, smelling the air around him. It was filled with all kinds of scents; candles, smoke, food… He looked directly into the devil's eyes, "Please, anything…" there was an almost desperate edge to his voice.

And then he saw his first victim.

About fifty metres away, he saw an middle aged man walking slowly through the village, holding a lantern in his hand to give him light. It was a rarity for people to go out for a walk so late considering how cold and dark it was, but this was Arthur's lucky shot. He stared at him for a few seconds before setting off in an impatient walk as if stalking him. Alfred's eyes followed the other's gaze, and he almost looked like he had no idea what he was going to do. "Hey, uh, Arthur… wait up, you have to _plan_ something like this before rushing forward… _ARTHUR!" _

It was too late by this point; Arthur was beyond listening or comprehending anything other than the sound of this man's heart beat, and the sight the vein pulsating in his neck which looked incredibly inviting. He could contain himself any longer, and he knew that this was all that he needed.

The man had obviously turned to hear Alfred's screams, and his eyes widened as he saw Arthur quickly approaching. Arthur didn't react to this though, didn't give a crap if he was seen or if he was doing it wrong; he was running entirely on instincts. He pulled the man into the alley way and immediately, without any hesitation in the slightest, sunk his fangs into the soft part of the man's neck, biting right down into the main artery, letting out a moan of pleasure as he felt the warm crimson liquid slide down his throat, as if it were calming the fire that had formed in there. No words could possibly describe how perfect this moment seemed. To Arthur, there was nothing else in the world. He kept sucking, his arms wrapped tightly around the groaning human as he slowly fell into a state of unconsciousness. Arthur hardly noticed though as he drunk ravenously without any holdbacks. Some blood had escaped his mouth and slid down his chin, but he didn't care about getting messy.

A human heart beat will stop once the blood has been drained to below forty percent capacity. So as soon as the human could have been clinically confirmed dead, Arthur pulled back, allowing the body to drop to the ground in a large, bloody heap.

He took a step back, finally coming back into the realisation of his previous actions. His eyes widened at the sight before him. He fell down to his knees, almost in shock. "N-no…" he muttered, staring at the corpse he had created on the ground, the two puncture holes in its neck still slowly oozing blood.

Alfred, who had been watching this whole scene with a serious expression, walked up to Arthur and patted his shoulder in an attempt to be comforting. "Arthur…"

"Shut up!" Arthur shouted, shrugging the other's hand off his shoulder before standing up to look him straight in the eye. "Just shut up! I did that…" he pointed at the body on the ground, "I _killed_ him! I don't deserve to live, not after that… I'm a monster…." He wiped the blood away from his mouth with his hand, his already dirty clothes becoming even more covered in blood. Yet again, this was the least of his problems.

Alfred tilted his head to the side, trying to calm down the newborn vampire, "Look… you can change the past. What's done is done…. You're not human now, and you need to remember that. Forget your past, forget everything. This is you."

Arthur found this in no way comforting. He frowned deeply, opening his mouth to yell at Alfred, but before he could, the devil clasped his hand over the vampire's mouth. "Shh! Do you want the whole world to see what you've done? Look…" Using his own inhuman strength, he placed both of his arms on Arthur's shoulders, holding in right in front of him and speaking directly at his face in a hushed tone, "We have to clean this up, okay? Don't panic. I know that is hard for you right now. We'll keep this a secret between us. Okay?" He held the other within his arms, looking into him intently.

Arthur's eyes trailed back to the body, and a small, blood stained tear slid down his face as the full impact of what he just done hit him in the full frontal in the face. He just nodded though, unable to say anything more that went against the other. He obviously knew how to handle with similar situations. "Okay…" he said under his breath, looking back up at the devil, "I… I trust you…"

Alfred smiled slightly leaning in to give the blood soaked vampire a hug. Arthur didn't know how to respond, and his eyes widened at the sudden random affection the devil was displaying. He would _not_ fall for this, and slipped out of the hug, a small forced frown on his face. "Let's just clean this up…." He muttered, turning to face the corpse once more.

The devil looked a little saddened by the other response, but shrugged, walking up to the body. "You know, the good thing about being here in England is the access to all this magic…" he reached into his pocket, pulling out a certain black powder before throwing it over the corpse and watching patiently. Surely enough, the body began to slowly dissolve into thin air. Arthur stared at it with his eyes wide; never before had he seen something like this. Magic was totally forbidden, and being caught in the practice would have you surely beheaded. Alfred looked at Arthur, "It's just transporting the body to a different location, blood and all. There are people who deal with this kind of thing, so if you ever need help, just ask me!" he grinned, pointing at his chest.

Looking up at him with a partially curious stare, Arthur tilted his head. Alfred seemed so… calm and collected about everything. The body was now gone, leaving him and the devil alone in the quiet area. He wanted to go someone more enclosed, more private, even if he had to be alone in the process. He just needed time to think and let everything sink in. This devil knew more stuff, and he needed to learn.

"Uhh…" Alfred said, looking up and rubbing the back of his head with his hand, "The place I reside in is near here. We could go there, I guess…"

"That sounds good, I need to get away from all of this… obviously I can't go back to my family like this…" He now understood why Alfred had been so against it before. If Arthur had killed that human so easily, he could only imagine what he could potentially do to his family if he lost control like he just had. He couldn't risk it… they would be better off without him, despite how worried he was about their futures.

"Alright," Alfred said with a small smile, "First things first…." he closed his eyes, obviously concentrating on something. Arthur's eyes widened as he noticed the devil's appearance slowly changing into something more human like; his horns shrinking back into his head, and his black hair slowly turning into a blonde only a few shades darker than Arthur's own hair. Also, the devil tail, which Arthur had only just noticed, seemed to shrink back into his body. He looked… human.

"Wow…" Arthur said under his breath, "So I guess you use magic a lot then….?"

"I have to, it's the only way I can get around these places. I own a small place, and the only way I can do that is if I appear human. It's a pain is the ass sometimes, but I don't care," he shrugged, "Just follow me…"

Arthur listened, and did what he was told. Everything was so bright despite the fact that it was the middle of the night. He could see everything due to this new enhanced vision. The moon was high up in the sky, and the only thing that seemed to be providing any light. He kept walking beside the devil, looking around at everything, almost as if something would pop up… but nothing did.

It only took a few small minutes and they were at the front door of Alfred's 'home'. Alfred opened the door and stepped in, gesturing for Arthur to follow. He took a step forward and came across an imaginary barrier separating him from entering. He tried again, with the same lack of luck. "What the hell…."

Alfred turn back and looked confused for a second, "What's wrong? Come in!"

"I can't! It won't let me…" but as he said this he stepped forward, and suddenly the random barrier was removed. Arthur looked around suspiciously, raising his eyebrows as he did so. "That was… weird…"

Realisation hit, "Ooooh, that's one of those silly vampire things… you know, those rules that make no sense…"

Arthur tilted his head to the side. "No, I have no idea… why did that happen? I'm so confused…"

Alfred just sighed, closing the door behind them both before walking over and lighting a candle to provide some light. "There is a lot you need to learn… and I'm not sure I'm the one who you should be asking…"

"Why can't you teach me? I can't do this alone!" Yet again, that certain anger was flooding through his body, one that he couldn't explain, "I woke up _like a monster_. Can you even comprehend what I'm going through at the moment? Do you even care? Do you even give a fuck about me?" Honestly, he didn't know what had come over him, why he was asking such silly questions.

"I can't tell you because you need to find out yourself… I'm not a vampire, I don't know what you can and can't do. Dude, I hardly know anything… I helped you out today because…" he trailed off into a thought.

"Because why?" Arthur pressed on.

"I thought you were dead! I was about to get you taken away before you suddenly opened your eyes and scared the crap out of me…"

"Huh… well, I'm sorry…" Arthur looked down, clearly confused as to what emotion he should be going through. "Look, I've got no idea what's going on…"

"And I'll help you, if you want… but I don't have the answers, so you can't rely on my judgment."

After all the events that he had just gone through, Arthur had finally come to the realisation that nothing was _ever_ going to be normal again. Life Alfred had said, he couldn't change the past and whatever had happened there in the woods… this was him, and he had to learn how to deal with this from now on. "Thank you…" he said softly under his breath.

Alfred just smiled, reaching out for Arthur's hand, "You're welcome… now, let's go get you clean up, okay? I'll show you to the wash room where you can wash off all that blood."

Arthur nodded, and with that they began walking towards the washroom hand in hand. Arthur couldn't help but notice how warm Alfred's hand was, nor could he miss the steady pulse that sent a small shiver down his spine. He wanted answers, and decided that this was the only way he could work them out.

What awaited him in the washroom, however, was yet another shock.


	4. The Cost of Immortality

Before this day, Arthur could safely admit that he had never before seen a monster.

Now though, as he looked at his reflection in the large mirror before him, that had all changed.

As soon as he had walked into the room, his eyes had immediately caught sight of the mirror, as if he had been unconsciously searching for it. He stared at it, wide eyed as he stepped closer and closer towards his reflection, his mouth forming a small 'O'. There was blood everywhere; all over his face, his body, his clothing… His hair was matted with the stuff worse than he had thought of before. He stared into his own eyes; the deep crimson colour had begun to fade into his usual emerald irises, leaving them streaked and tinted with the colour of blood. Arthur had grown up to be quite pale-skinned, but now there was no colour left at all. Black rings stood out around the bottom of his eyelids, contrasting once more with the deathly pale skin, along with the smears of blood. His eyes then focused on his mouth; the blood stained lips and the sharp pointed canine teeth. He examined his fangs closer, opening his mouth and running a finger along one of them. They were narrow, yet sharp and extraordinarily strong.

He closed his mouth and fell to his knees, holding onto his stomach as he dry reached. Nothing came up… the blood that he had drunk before had gone straight into his blood stream, fuelling him with the strength he needed to hunt and survive.

It didn't take him long at all to realise that he didn't need to breath anymore. Once he had stopped trying to hurl, he sat there on his knees, simply staring at the ground. He didn't even move, breathe, or respond to any form of stimulus thrown at him. He was sure that Alfred had touched his shoulder and said something, but he couldn't comprehend it, just sat there silently as he let his mind wander. He didn't know how long it had been, but somewhere in the background, he heard the sound of water. He looked up at Alfred, who was standing next to a large tub which he was filling with water from a large kettle that he must have heated from downstairs in the fireplace.

He stood up and walked over to Alfred, who simply smiled back at him, "You're back! I was worried about you for a bit… you seemed to be so… out of it, you know?"

Arthur simply nodded, unable to even form words in his shocked state. He didn't know how to react to anything. His eyes turned to look upon the candle, watching as the flame slowly moved back and forwards… it was so beautiful, unlike himself… the monster….

_I'm a monster…_ he thought to himself, _I killed that man…I'm a monster….monster… monster…_

He was snapped out of his little trance by Alfred, who had cupped water into his hand and dropped it on Arthur's face. "Come on Mr Talkative, get in the bath. You need to wash all of that blood off of you… Here…" he took a step forward, taking off Arthur's small, blood-stained cloak and placing it on the floor. He then started undoing the dirty brown tunic, pulling it off above Arthur's head, revealing his chest. Arthur didn't care, and only moved where the other instructed him to. The image he had seen before of himself had traumatised him, and he didn't know who he was anymore.

_Monster… monster… I'm a monster…._

He was only partially aware when Alfred began to pull Arthur's pants down, and he still didn't struggle, not even once. Again, this behaviour was much unlike him. "Step up…" Alfred said, and Arthur did as he was told, stepping out of his clothing, his whole body now on display, not that he cared. "Now..." began Alfred in a small, almost reassuring voice, "Step into the tub… I'll help you, if you need me to…" Arthur simply nodded, walked up to the bath filled with water and stepping in, noticing Alfred's hand on his arm as he did so. He sat down, watching as the blood slowly washed away from his skin upon contact with the lukewarm water. He stared forward, his eyes focusing on nothing in particular. To most, he would have appeared like a lifeless doll. Through his mind were continuous flashbacks of the incident, the one where he had killed an innocent human being.

"Eeergh, since when did I become the newborn vampire babysitter?" he heard Alfred sigh melodramatically. Arthur let this one pass, yet again not responding. _Vampire… I'm a vampire…_ Negative thoughts flew around in his mind as he thought of the future. It was blank… he didn't know who he was any longer, it had all been blown away.

Alfred, despite his previous groans involving a severe lack of enjoyment, seemed to be doing a good job at looking after Arthur. He washed the blood off of Arthur, using some soap and mixing it with the water. He did the same for the rest of his body; his arms mostly. His legs had been fully covered with the pants from before and therefore where not covered in blood. Once this had all been done, the water was stained red. Alas, he was not yet finished.

Alfred went over and filled up a small bucket with water, bringing it over. "Close your eyes," he instructed, and Arthur did as he was told. Water rushed over his head, and Alfred washed away some more of the blood with soap before pouring water back onto him again. He handed Arthur a small towel of which to wipe the blood off his face with. Soon enough, all the blood seemed to have been removed from his body, not that he felt much better.

"Okay, Princess, time to get out," he said in a joking tone as Arthur made his way out of the tub. Alfred held out a towel of which Arthur quickly grabbed and dried himself off with. "Do you feel better?" Alfred asked as he watched, tilting his head to the side.

What could he possibly say? I'm happy? I'm fine? He was none of the above. There was only one thing in his mind. "Alfred… am I a monster?"

At first, Alfred seemed taken aback by this sudden comment. "Well… I'm sure there are many ways of defining a monster. I mean, I don't think you're a _bad_ monster… You didn't know what was happening, you had no control against your hunger. It's not you who's the monster, I don't think…."

Arthur didn't see this to be extremely convincing at all. "I killed him," he muttered under his breath, "I killed that human, and drunk his blood… _and enjoyed it…"_ he emphasised the last three words, staring up at Alfred, the towel now covering his whole body. "How is that not being a monster?"

Sighing, Alfred stepped forward and placed his hands on Arthur's shoulder. "Look… nothing I say will help, I know that, but don't let it get to you, okay? I don't think you're a monster."

Well, at least one of them thought he wasn't a monster… in a way, Arthur found this partially reassuring, but did not smile. Instead, he shrugged the other's hands off his shoulders, and went back to inspect himself in the mirror. His eyes were now back to their normal shade of emerald green, and Arthur found small comfort in this. The blood was all gone, yet the pale skin still stood out as a dominant feature. He let out a small sigh, turning his gaze back to the ground. "Thank you…" he muttered under his breath. He could hardly believe the words coming out of his own mouth, "Thank you for everything you've done… without you I… I don't even know…"

"No need to thank me, Artie," he said with a grin. Arthur turned, raising an eyebrow at the new nickname. No one had ever called him that before. "I'm the hero!" he added with a finite tone.

"If you say so," Arthur said, looking back over at the mirror again. At least Alfred didn't look like a monster at the moment… Arthur hated his reflection, especially more now seeing as though all he could see within the mirror world was a monster… a vampire.

"Okay, time to get you dressed…. Come with me," Alfred said, gesturing them out of the room and into the hallway. It was a short walk to the bedroom. Moonlight shone in, giving Arthur enough light to see every aspect of the room with perfect clarity. He was almost positive that before this change, nothing would have seemed so clear to him. He watched as Alfred went off to the wardrobe, pulling out plain black pants and a black tunic, followed by a hooded cloak which would have reached down to the small of Arthur's back if he were to put it on. Dark colours, he noticed, all of which would make it hard to see him in the night. Alfred held out the clothes to him, and Arthur took them, putting them all on immediately. When he was done, he looked back at Alfred and tilted his head to the side. He had no words, his mind still partially filled with earlier worries, despite how much Alfred had helped before.

"Good," Alfred said, reassuringly, "Now, you can rest if you like. There is a bed here," he pointed to the middle of the room. "I seriously have no idea about what the undead sleeping patterns are though, so you'll have to work it out yourself."

_Undead… Vampire… Monster…._ Yet again the words found themselves flooding through Arthur's mind, and he couldn't control them at all. "I'm not tired," he said, which was no lie. Despite all that had just happened, Arthur felt absolutely no inclination to rest, yet another thing that was odd and out of place.

"Okay dude, suit yourself," said Alfred, yawning. "Tonight has been big… you sure you don't want to sleep?"

Arthur simply shook his head. "I don't want to…."

"At least lie down next to me… I want to make sure you don't run away…" Alfred said softly, in a partially reassuring tone.

Arthur thought about this for a moment, and then nodded. "I guess I can do that…

Smiling, Alfred said, "Good! Yeah, I know you're confused and everything… and I don't want you hurting yourself. I need my own sleep, but I don't want to leave you…"

He couldn't help wondering why Alfred was being like this, so… protective of him. He felt it rude to ask, so he kept silent, and followed Alfred down to the bed. Alfred threw himself onto one side, and Arthur sat down on the other, simply staring up at the moon through the window. It was so beautiful, so bright, so perfect… so unlike him.

Trying to forget his morbid thoughts, Arthur lay down beside Alfred, and closed his eyes in a feeble attempt to sleep. Suddenly, he felt something warm against his own hand, and his eyes shot open once more. It was Alfred's hand, his fingers gently entangled with Arthur's. "Now you can't go anywhere," Alfred said softly, closing his own eyes as he fell off into a blissful sleep.

Arthur couldn't sleep though. He lay there, his eyes wide open as he listened to the sound of the other's slow breathing. Arthur lay there still though, not even breathing himself; he didn't need to. His heart no longer beat, therefore oxygen didn't need to be supplied to his lungs to be sent into the blood stream… he only needed it to talk. Sure, it made everything easier, but he didn't feel comfortable as he attempted to breath in, only feeling the air travel through the empty canals of his chest and out again as he exhaled. He hated it… hated everything about this… except maybe Alfred. He was the only thing about this that made it partially bearable. He turned his head to look at his face, simply gazing at his features under the soft moonlight. He would never say this out loud, but Alfred was _extremely_ attractive. He had a wonderful personality as well, seeing as though he went out of his way to help Arthur, a newborn vampire, find peace with himself. At least it was working, and now he felt… happier, like there wasn't as much of a burden any longer.

Hours past, and Arthur didn't close his eyes. Sleep evaded him; of course he had tried, but he wasn't tired at all, and couldn't force himself to enter the world of unconsciousness.

But of course, with time comes light.

Arthur had noticed the room slowly getting brighter and brighter. He blinked a few times and sat up, his fingers still entangled with Alfred's, who seemed to be dead to the world. Something was terribly wrong though. Arthur's skin… it was tingling uncomfortably. He looked down at his arms with curiosity. The small itch turned into a burn, becoming steadily more painful by the second. He was burning… his skin was becoming turning red. "N-no…." he muttered. It was getting worse, the pain. He looked over at Alfred, who was blinking quickly as the light shined into the room with greater intensity.

"Arthur? What's wrong….?" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Nnng…. Alfred… I don't know… what's happening…" he looked down at his skin, becoming panicky as the pain increased.

It seemed like realisation hit Alfred in the face, his eyes widening. "Oh… Arthur! Get out of the room… get out now.." he stumbled up to his feet, and Arthur followed.

"What… is this…" he muttered under his breath as Alfred ran up to the blinds, quickly closing them before any more light could shine it.

"The sun… you can't… Arthur... I'm sorry… this is my fault… I should have known sooner…"

Arthur had stepped back, hiding behind the bed, looking down at his skin with wide eyes as the burn seemed to heal up just as quickly as it had occurred. "You mean to say, I can't… go into the sunlight anymore?" he looked up at Alfred, his eyes widened with worry.

Alfred walked over to him, sitting next to him and nodding. "I forgot about that… the sun burns vampires… don't ask me how, I have no idea…"

Of course… his circumstances had just deteriorated. No more sun… how was he going to survive with that? Without saying anything at all, he slid down and leaned his head on Alfred's shoulder. Words evaded him… movement evaded him… he wanted this to all end, like some horrible nightmare.

Alfred didn't seem taken back by Arthur's actions, but instead brought his hand up and entangled his fingers in Arthur's hair in a way that he could only hope was comforting. "It's okay… it's just the sun. You saw the moon last night, it's so beautiful, am I right? Cheer up, Artie!" he leaned over and gently pressing his lips against Arthur's forehead, placing a kiss right above his eye.

"Why me…" Arthur whispered, still leaning into Alfred, "Why do I have to go through this? I didn't ask to be what I am… I don't even remember what happened, or who did it…" He closed his eyes to avoid tearing up as the memories of killing refilled his mind yet again. "I don't want to be a vampire!" he cried out.

"I can't change the past, Artie…. But I can help you get through this, okay? You've been through a lot, and… I know what that's like to have everything ripped away like that…. You're going to get through this, I'll make sure of that."

Looking up at him for a brief second, Arthur let a small, miniscule smile slip onto his face, "Thank you, Alfred…" he said softly. "I couldn't have done this without you…."

"I know…." Alfred whispered, gently wrapping his arms around Arthur in a comforting way, " I know…"

_((Hey guys! Thank you for your awesome reviews! I love reading them, it gives me motivation to write more, and I enjoying knowing what other people think about my story._

_Tell me if you are enjoying it so far! :D ))_


	5. What it Means to be Dead

Ever since the incident with the sun, Arthur could feel the pain in his throat slowly returning by the second. At first he was confused by the whole process, but the longer he thought about it, the more it made sense.

He didn't know how long he had been leaning into Alfred, but he did know that he was comfortable. That's what he needed though, reassurance, and Alfred warm hand playing with the strands of Arthur's hair was helping with that. He missed being alive... he could feel Alfred's heart beat and feel the warmth radiating off his skin. Arthur's skin was cold though, with absolutely no body heat. So leaning into Alfred was like a relief which calmed his insides ever so slightly. _I'm dead… _he continued to remind himself…. _I don't deserve to be here…_

He remained quiet for a large portion of the time. He began to put the pieces together in his mind… Obviously the blood that he had consumed earlier had given him strength and warmth, something of which he was craving even more at this point in time. He also had to assume that the blood helped with the drastic healing his body was now capable of, therefore depleting it's supply. The more he thought about it, the more it fit together scientifically. Maybe if he spent enough time thinking about it, he could work it all out, how this had happened, and how he could cure it…. There was so much more he needed to know though. At least there was the small spark of hope at the end of this tunnel.

It could have been minutes, maybe even hours, but after some amount of time, Arthur lifted his head off Alfred's shoulder and pulled back, looking into his eyes. He wanted to thank him again for simply just being there for him, but surely that would be over kill. Instead, the corner of his mouth formed into a smile. "I don't know where I would be without you…" he whispered under his breath. Compared to hours ago, he was feeling much happier, especially now that he knew that he had somewhere there for him, to comfort him. He knew full well that he was a monster and that he was probably capable of so much more damage, but despite what he had done, Alfred hadn't seemed to mind, and had only said nice words after the whole incident. It was hard to believe someone could be so positive after such a murderous episode…

Alfred looked back at him, a grin still apparent on his face, "Don't dwell on what could have happened in the past, think about the future…. I helped you because… well, I couldn't just leave you there…"

Arthur titled his head slightly. He couldn't help but noticed that the other's arms with still wrapped around him, holding him close, and he didn't object to this in the slightest. Of course he hardly knew the devil at all, but Alfred was all he had at the moment… Almost ignoring the other words, he looked at Alfred questioningly. "You said before that you knew what it was like to have everything taken away from you… why?"

As if he had been expecting this, Alfred let out a small sigh, unwrapping his arms from Arthur's body and straightening up as he sat against the bedframe. Arthur did the same, analysing his face with interest as he spoke "You know how these witch hunts have been going on for a while now?... Well, a couple of years ago, I got caught up in it all. My family was attacked, and I watched as the devils killed and devoured them. They said it was their way of having fun, a sort of enjoyment. I said that they were sick individuals and that what they were doing was wrong and terrible…. I stood up to them, yelled at them, and surprisingly, they listened to every word I had to say…" he placed his head in his hands as the memories obviously flooded through his mind, like they had been doing to Arthur all night and day, "They said I was strong, that I was worthy, or some other shit… Mostly I was delirious, filled with pain from the death of my loved ones. My family meant everything to me! A life without them would be one not worth living… The devils told me that I could become one of them, and I replied immaturely, telling them that I would be a better devil then them any day.

"They followed through with my agreement, reaching into my heart and pulling out my humanity, chanting foreign words and things that made no sense to me… it was demonic and terrible, and so freaking scary… but I pulled through. I _am _better devil then them! I don't kill for fun… but like you, I have to kill to survive… it's in my nature though, the part I didn't understand when I signed up for all of this…" he let out a loud, pained sigh, "I'm such an idiot…"

Taken aback by all of this, Arthur didn't really know what he should say. "You're not an idiot, Alfred. Quite the opposite really… Yeah, you made a silly mistake, but like you've told me, you can't change the past…" When it came to comforting, Arthur really was terrible at it. He always felt awkward, like he was going to say the wrong thing and just hurt the other person even more. With Alfred though, it was different; their situations were so similar, and they could relate to each other more than anyone else in the entire world. "You lost your family, and I can no longer see mine… and we're both monsters now as a result…. But we can do this, right? Together…"

Alfred turned to look right into Arthur's eyes. Arthur just gazed back, almost mesmerised by the deep baby blue colour of his irises, and the perfect detailing they had when he looked even closer. "You're right," Alfred said, smiling once more, "Dude, we're like, the same! I'm glad I helped you out, somehow I knew you'd be going through the same stuff that I am... I haven't actually told anybody about what happened that day… I'm sort of opening myself up to you, you know? It feels good…"

"Well, considering this all happened to me yesterday, I guess I haven't told anyone either…." He smiled slightly, still looking right into the other's eyes. "I'm fortunate to have met you… I really am…"

"I'm glad I found you! You're not like anyone else I've ever met before, which is a good thing. And considering all these hunts going on, it'll be good to have someone to hide with. Getting caught would be horrible… do you know what they do to creatures like us?" he raised his eyebrow in a questioning way.

Arthur shook his head, "I don't know much about it all, honestly. I've just stayed away from it all… until now… I guess I have no choice, considering they'll be looking for me… but what do they do? Just so I know…."

"I don't know all the details, but they use stuff like holy water and crucifixes and other shit… It burns my kind, you know… I'm not sure about vampires, but it's probably the same principle. They use that to torture first, then they'll either behead you or burn your body with fire, sometimes even both…" he shook his head, looking away in disgust, "It's horrible. I've witnessed it before, and I _will not _let that happen to me. Or to you, I'll keep you safe… we'll look after each other, okay?"

Arthur eyes widened at these words… holy things would burn him? How did that even work? He was a dedicated Christian, always had been… and had even supported what he had heard about these witch before he had become a vampire. He shuddered slightly, remembering the pain the sun had brought upon him, imagining the pain something like holy water would do to his body now… he had to be careful. "Deal. We'll get through this alive, I know we will… well, maybe except for me… I'm not exactly _alive_ now, am I?" he looked down again, a sad expression forming on his face.

Alfred sighed, bringing his arm around Arthur's back, gently patting his shoulder. "I think you're very much alive. You're talking to me, aren't you? That's proof enough for me. You may have died, but you came back…. It was meant to happen."

"I guess so, when you say it like that. I remember dying though… it was so dark, there was nothing there, and I couldn't move, or breathe, or feel anything… there was no pain, nothing… just emptiness…" he leaned his head back on Alfred's shoulder, resuming their earlier position. "I was so scared… then I woke up like this…."

"I was their when you woke up, and I honestly thought you were totally dead back there. I came just in time though! See, I helped you come back to life. I don't think you're dead…."

Arthur smiled, leaning up slightly to look at him, "I'm glad you don't think so…" He now understood why they got along so well. Alfred had seen what Arthur had just gone through; his first kill, the realisation that he was actually a monster… Alfred had gone through all of that as well, in a different yet similar way. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Alfred said, pulling away from Arthur and stepping up onto his feet, stretching his arms up in the air. "Ahhhh… How long have we been sitting there?" He asked, looking around. It was still light outside, and Arthur was still forced to squint slightly as he sat up to look around the room. Even this very small amount of light hurt his sensitive eyes; yet another thing he now hated about himself. He had to add that to the list.

"I don't know…" he finally said, he didn't care either. It had all been one big blur. He sat down on the bed and placed a hand on his own throat. It was hard to explain this kind of hunger… if didn't originate in his chest, but seemed to make his whole body ache with the lust for blood… He kept thinking about it, staring at the red objects in the room, listening to the heartbeat of Alfred like a drum…. He couldn't take this much longer. He wanted to die… again…

"Ah well, a few more hours, I'd say, and we can go outside again. Dude, I'll show you everything! The night time is totally better than anything in the day!" To Arthur, it was obvious that Alfred was trying to cheer him up, "I know you're hungry… I am too, so we'll go sort all that crap out first, then we can hang out. Sound good?"

Arthur could do nothing but just nod slowly, thinking about his 'hunger' once more. He would have to do the same as he did the night before… and he wasn't looking forward to it one bit. From memory, he knew that he would be able to because the monster took over his body for that short amount of time… it was after the kill that he would begin to regret it. "Sure…" he mumbled under his breath, a small sigh escaping his mouth.

He felt Alfred's arm on his shoulders, "Don't be so sad… I'll make sure you're okay. You're sire ran away, right? So…I'll take over their job…."

Arthur's eyebrow twitched, "Sire? You mean... he was supposed to stay?..."

"Well yeah, dude… who else is supposed to teach you all the fun stuff?"

Suddenly extremely annoyed, Arthur's fists clenched tightly together. "So you're saying some idiot left me there, after turning me…."

Alfred stepped back a bit, "Yeah, maybe… but it's all okay now though, right? I've taught you stuff, I guess… not that I'm exactly a qualified teacher or anything, but yeah… don't worry about that idiot, okay?" Concern was apparent on his face, and Arthur didn't miss it.

"I guess… it's just… why did he do this? Why me? Why do I have to be the monster…?"

"I don't know why, and you will never know why either… it's just a little twist in fate… well… a _big_ twist in fate, really… but it will work out fine, I'm sure of it."

"Why? Why are you so sure about everything? I should be dead! Why aren't I…?"

Alfred just smiled, much to Arthur's displeasure, "Because some force brought you back. You deserve to live; I know that just from spending time with you."

"But this can hardly be called living… I killed someone, and will probably kill more people… I'd rather be dead myself than kill off the population."

"Please don't think like that. I want to make people happy, so I'll do the same for you. When it gets dark, I'm sure everything will get better. You need to understand that you need to kill to survive, no matter what, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, as horrible as it may sound at first…"

He knew in the back of his mind that Alfred was right… but he just wanted everything to end. He would rather die than be a part of this world when all he could do was kill people in their sleep. "Fine..." was he all could think of saying.

Alfred looked at him, "It will all be fine," he said reassuringly.

For the next couple of hours, they both sat down by the main table next to each other, Arthur with his head in his hands as he focused on the burning hunger from within. It was impossible to ignore, a feeling that in itself was indescribable. Alfred's words kept floating through his mind… _It will all be fine…_ He could only hope this was true, because he couldn't possibly see how it would be fine at all. Eventually though, the sun began to drift beyond the horizon until the sky was completely dark again. Arthur stood up almost immediately, and met eyes with Alfred, who nodded at him.

"Stay with me, okay? Alfred said as he walked over to the door and opened it, allowing a cool breeze to surround them. It was surprising though… Arthur didn't feel cold at all, despite the fact that it was night time.

"Sure, I'll do that…" he replied, looking forward as he did, his eyes already changing back into that deep crimson shade from before. When they were both out, Alfred closed the door behind them both and looked around warily. Their surroundings were almost desolate, it seemed. Arthur could hear people from inside their homes, but couldn't see anyone or sense their presence.

The change was almost immediate; Arthur stared at Alfred as he began to transform into his true form. His hair darkened quickly into a deep black, and two black horns now protruded from his head. This time, Arthur caught a glimpse of the thin devil's tail, one which only reminded him of how scared he used to be of the creatures that these supposed hunters had been tracking… Society had been told they were witches that cast magic, which was of course forbidden, but Arthur had always thought that there was more to it than just that… and now he was one of those creatures, along with Alfred, and it literally scared the crap out of him.

Without any warning at all, Alfred came up behind Arthur and wrapped his arms tightly around his stomach, extending out his huge black wings. Arthur's eyes immediately widened, as he could tell what was coming. "Hold on," Alfred said, and Arthur could only assume that he was smirking. Alfred jumped into the air and caught the wind, flapping his wings and flying upwards at a remarkable pace.

"Nnng! Where are you taking me?" Arthur called out as he looked around the world. It was quite a sight; everything was lit only by the light of the moon. He could see everything, including the country side over to the west.

"You'll see," he said, letting out a small, friendly sounding chuckle. Arthur didn't know what to had expect, and had actually given up thinking that anything good would come out of anything that he did. After a few minutes, Alfred flew up to one of the tallest trees, and landed on the topmost branch, holding Arthur close to he wouldn't fall off.

"What the hell are we doing up here? I told you… I'm so fucking hungry right now, and I can't see anything in this tree that looks even partially appealing…" he let out a soft sigh, looking down below him as he did, horrible thoughts flowing through his mind. There was a big drop to the ground… surely he could end it all if he just jumped off. It would be simple.

"It's a nice view, don't you think? I often come here before I have to feed… it takes my mind off things, I guess," he shrugged slightly, looking down into Arthur's reddened eyes, which were still pointed towards the ground below them.

The thoughts going through Arthur's mind were not as optimistic as Alfred had been. Nothing made sense… nothing would ever make sense… and he wanted it over. If Alfred had not been holding onto him, he would have jumped without hesitation. "Alfred…" he said softly, looking up into his amazing blue eyes which seemed to shine in the moonlight, "I killed that man, and I _need_ to kill more… I don't want this… I don't want any of this… Give me one reason why I shouldn't just end it all right now. I don't deserve to live like this…"

Alfred looked slightly taken aback by the words at first, but a small, comforting smile appeared on his face. "I'll give you a reason," he whispered back just as softly.

With that, he leaned forward only slightly and pressed his lips against Arthur's, tightening his grip around him and pulling him into a deep kiss.

And Arthur did not complain.


	6. A Final Resting Place

Arthur had never kissed anyone before in the twenty three years of his existence.

Sure, he had always had fantasies of being with the girl who had lived next door to him for so many years, yet he had never even spoken a word to her. He wasn't exactly one that was good with words, and often got in trouble for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Now though, as he kissed Alfred, he forgot about everything... there was no hunger, no great distance of which he could fall off… just Alfred's lips against his own. Surely this was wrong though; they were both of the same sex. He had grown up in a strong Christian family who taught that only a man and a woman did stuff like this, and he had never before considered liking a male in this way. He was breaking the rules… but did that even matter now? He was a vampire, and he was going to have to start afresh no matter what happened. In that moment, he forgot about everything he had been taught as a child, and kissed Alfred back with a sort of passion that was hard to describe.

He wrapped his arms around Alfred's neck, pulling him in closer and deepening the kiss. Alfred was so warm, and he felt _alive_. He closed his eyes, letting every other sense in his body take over as they continued to kiss. He could hear the gentle sound of Alfred's heartbeat, and could taste his lips as they melded so perfectly around his own, and only craved for more. He didn't know what had come over him, but being here with Alfred felt so right, and right now he wanted nothing else.

Before it could go any further, Alfred pulled away panting slightly. "Dude, I need to breathe, you know?" he said with the most adorable smile on his face.

Before this, Arthur had seen Alfred as attractive, yes… but he would never have acted on it. Alfred had taken that first step, and now something deep within Arthur's mind had changed. He couldn't help but smile up at Alfred as he held onto him. He had been right; that in itself was enough for him to survive on. All thoughts of jumping off the branch fell from his mind at a lightening pace as he looked up into Alfred's perfect, baby blue eyes that shone like orbs in the light of the moon. Honestly though, he had forgotten that Alfred would need to breathe; it had just slipped his mind. "Heh, sorry," he said softly, that small, happy smile still playing on his face.

So they stood there for a few moments in each other's arms. In a way, this helped Arthur, who had been so horribly depressed only a few moments ago. Alfred had changed that, had changed everything about his world… Sure, Arthur had woken up as a vampire, but Alfred had been there from the moment he opened his eyes, and he would be forever grateful for the entirety of his existence. "Thank you…" he said softly into Alfred's ear, "Thank you for saving me…"

"No problem! Anytime, Artie," he replied, slightly louder than Arthur had. "I'm the hero, remember? And I'll keep you safe until the end, no matter what happens!"

Arthur couldn't help but chuckle slightly, "You promise?"

"I promise!"

Arthur could have stayed there in Alfred's arms like that forever. However, the longer they stood there, the quicker the hunger returned. Arthur pulled back this time and brought a hand up to his throat almost unconsciously. He let out as small sigh as reality washed over him once more. "Alright… let's get this over and done with…" he said, looking away from Alfred for a second. He knew what he had to do… he had absolutely no choice in the matter now. It was either kill or go crazy, because he didn't want to leave the world just yet… all because of Alfred. No one had ever meant this much to him, not even his own family. Sure, they had only met the night before, but what Alfred had done for Arthur could not be thanked in words alone. Besides, he wanted this hunger over and dealt with. He wanted to spend more time with Alfred, as ridiculous as it sounded.

"Yeah, let's do this! Trust me, it'll be fine once you get used to it. Hey, maybe we can work together too! You know, you drink the blood, I'll eat the flesh…"

"You eat flesh?"

"Yeah, and you drink blood."

"Good point…"

After that, they laughed for a few moments, before Alfred extended his wings once more and wrapped his arms around Arthur, jumping out into the sky. His wings caught the wind, and soon they were both soaring through the sky. Alfred told Arthur that he knew all the places that were good for this kind of hunting. They were quiet, yet some of the rough, silly humans would go by them and muck about, according to Alfred. Arthur went along with it, honestly just wanting to get rid of the hunger, not caring how he did it at this point. He could already sense the vampire side of him taking over his mind.

They landed in a desolate seeming area, and Alfred retracted his wings into his back so he didn't stand out as much. It was dark, all except for the light of the moon which gave sufficient light for the both of them to see with.

Arthur could hear voices and sounds of general human movement. He didn't even know who they were, but he felt pulled towards them with an instinct to devour their blood. It sickened him to think of doing something so utterly terrible, but it had to be done. Alfred patted him on the back as they stopped for a second. "We'll do this quickly, okay? Tell me when you're full, and we'll stop. I don't know how much vampires drink… Just let me know when you're done, and we'll stop." He nodded at Alfred's words and looked into his eyes. "Whoa Arthur," he said, grinning, "You look so scary when you're hungry…those eyes… they're freaking me out!" he laughed as if it was all amusing, "Come on, let's go," he said finitely, reaching for Arthur's hand and walking forward with him.

He didn't want to remember what had happened the night before, because he knew he would be doing the same tonight. He'd be fine though, he could do this… he thought of Alfred, who at first glance seemed so innocent and carefree about the world. He was sure that tonight he would get to see the other side of Alfred. The two of them were so messed up…

It didn't take them long at all to reach the human victims that they had been hunting down; there were two of them. Alfred leaned down and whispered into Arthur's ear. "You go for one of them, and I'll hold down the other. Then we can trade. Just let your instincts take over and you'll be fine…"

"I know what to do," he whispered back, slightly agitated due to the incredible hunger that he was experiencing. With that, they kept walking up to the humans who seemed to be having a brawl with each other, both obviously quite drunk. They seemed to be of about middle class, where Arthur had come from.

Without any hesitation, Arthur jumped the taller of the two humans, a ferocious, completely inhuman expression on his face as he approached him at a lightning speed, quickly sinking his fangs deep into his neck and sucking in an almost desperate fashion. The warm, crimson liquid slid down his throat and warmed him from the inside out, sending a shiver down his spine and he continued to drink as though his very life depended on it. He gripped tightly onto the dying human's shoulders, listening to its pathetic screams as he slowly died in Arthur's arms. He kept drinking until the heart eventually gave out and failed to beat any longer. As soon as he had finished, he threw the body to the ground, his mind still filled with a certain hunger that needed to be quenched. He licked his lips before walking over to where Alfred was holding down the other human, a girl in her early twenties. Not that this mattered at all; nothing but the taste of her blood did. Alfred had been holding his hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming.

A terrible, evil smirk came over Arthur's face as he stared into the girls eyes with his own. She returned the look with pure horror, and for some unknown reason, this turned on Arthur's vampire instincts just that bit more. He grabbed at her wrist, giving Alfred a look which told Alfred that his job here was done. Alfred smirked back, and then pulled her in close, licking her neck in what seemed a teasing, playful way. This girl was going to die, and she knew it just as well as Arthur did. She continued to scream as Arthur's fangs punctured her soft, warm neck, bleeding out that liquid of which he currently desired more than anything else. She struggled, but his vampire strength was no match for such a small, pathetic little human. Her dead was similar to the other's; loud yet quick. He sucked her dry, waiting for that strong, fast heartbeat to begin to slow down into nothing. He had to admit, she held on to her life, like she refused to die. Arthur ended it though, and as soon as she died, he threw her body over to where Alfred was feeding off the dead body of the man from before.

Of course, his style of eating was different to Arthur's. Alfred tore at the flesh, his devil tail swinging around in the air as if he was enjoying himself thoroughly. Arthur watched in amusement as Alfred continued to feed off the two bodies until there was just a mangled mess before them both. Arthur knelt down on the ground beside Alfred, staring into the faces of the dead humans.

That's when it hit him.

His eyes widened at the realisation of what he had just done. He immediately stepped back up again and placed a hand over his mouth in disbelief. "Oh my God… no…NO!"

Alfred looked up suddenly, a confused expressing apparent on his blood soaked face, "Arthur? What's wrong?" He stood up beside Arthur, holding onto his arm to keep him from going anywhere.

Arthur just stared down at the bodies on the ground, blood stained tears already forming in his eyes as he looked at them in shock. "I knew them, Alfred… That girl, I've had my eye on her for years… and I just killed her… and that was her brother. They lived next to me for as long as I can remember… we used to play games together as children… _and I just killed them both."_

"Arthur… look, it's not your fault.."

"Yes! It is all my fault! Did you not see what I just did? _And I enjoyed it!" _He spat.

Alfred continued to keep a strong grip on both of Arthur's wrists, holding him close so he could be controlled. "Listen to me," Alfred stared deep down into Arthur's eyes, which were slowly fading back to their normal shade of emerald green, "You weren't yourself out there, understand that. I'm sorry that you knew the, but there was nothing you could do about it, was there? They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Please don't get sad…"

It was too late; a tear had already slipped down Arthur's face despite how much he had tried to avoid it. He was overwhelmed by the guilt of his actions, and nothing Alfred was saying was making him feel overly good about himself. He made sense though, but Arthur was being stubborn. "Killing is bad! And I killed them…"

"Don't think of it like that, please Artie… You're a good person, that's why I like you…" he let out a soft sigh and leant forward, pressing his forehead against Arthur's, "I felt the same way when I first became what I was… and I know killing is a horrible thing, but it's something we both must do to survive. So please, don't blame yourself for this… you're not a horrible person." He reached out with one hand and wiped the tear away from his cheek, a weak, hopefully supporting smile on his face.

Arthur looked down, breaking eye contact with Alfred. "I guess…" he said, although his insides were screaming.

Alfred pulled Arthur's chin up with his hand, looking yet again into his eyes. "Hey now, don't be so glum, you have me!" he said with a grin.

He didn't smile back in return, merely nodded his head the best he could. He opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could, he felt Alfred's lips meet his own again, and they fell yet again into another kiss. This was one different from the other; it was slower, a bit more cautious than the first one. Arthur's tongue almost unconsciously traced Alfred's lips, the taste of the human's blood still strong that it made him shiver slightly. Also, like the time before, he craved even more, and when Alfred's mouth opened ever so slightly for air, Arthur took the opportunity to explore his mouth with his own tongue. Alfred tasted like the humans for the most part, considering he had just eaten them, but this was a different experience altogether. Inside his mouth was so warm and brilliant, and tasted so brilliant and perfect. He ran his tongue along Alfred's fangs, which seemed to be smaller than and not as sharp as his own. He pulled his tongue back out again, and resumed kissing him. As he did this, Alfred's tail coiled its way around Arthur's wrist, holding him close. It seemed that Alfred was not the only one craving more, as his tongue seemed to make its way into Arthur's mouth, and he did not complain one bit. He could feel as Alfred's tongue slipped over his own fangs, and his mouth exploded with flavour as he tasted that small drop of Alfred's blood. It wasn't like human blood in the slightest. He could only describe it as slightly bitter, but sweet at the same time. It was beautiful, and Arthur began to gently suck on Alfred's tongue, all up until Alfred needed to take a breath again.

They pulled away from each other, but only by a few short centimetres. They gazed into each other's eyes. Their faces were both covered in blood, but that seemed to add to the atmosphere. They could be monsters together, and this gave him slight comfort. At least he wouldn't be alone in this; that thought alone made him very happy.

"Have you done this before?" Alfred whispered, "Because that was so great…"

"I was going to ask you the same question," Arthur replied with a small chuckle before leaning up and lightly pecking Alfred on the lips.

It was then that he noticed something wrong.

There were voices which seemed to be originating from about a hundred metres away. Footsteps… he could hear them too. He pulled back from Alfred as he concentrated.

"Arthur? Wha…"

"Shhhh…"

Something was terribly wrong, he could tell that much. The voices themselves were not familiar at all, but they were plotting something… they knew something had happened here and that's why they were headed here. He listened to their tones, recognising five, no… six different voices, meaning that there were many of them. They were fast approaching as well, and Arthur's eyes widened.

"Arthur, what's happening?..." Alfred whispered, unable to hear such fine detail.

A terrified expression crossed Arthur's face. "Alfred… it's the hunters… they're coming…"

Alfred's reaction was immediate. He grabbed onto Arthur and extended his wings, but before he could get anywhere at all, the sound of a gunshot filled the village, and Alfred let out a scream of pain and fell back.

"Alfred!" he shouted, worry apparent on his face as he turned to face the hunters, each appearing to be equipped with a large amount of weapons… more than Arthur could count at this present point in time. He had no idea what the hell he was doing…. Two days ago he would have supported these hunters, but now he didn't want to die… he wasn't ready to leave this world for a second time.

"So you finally came, huh?" Alfred spat, a mocking smirk on his face as he assessed his damaged wing, wincing before retracting them into his back once more. "I guess you could say we've been expecting you."

One of the hunters, a large, strong looking man stepped forward, "So what do we have here? A devil... and a vampire? How cute, working together like this," he said with an evil grin as he gestured to the pile of bodies they had created and forgotten to clean up before. "We can't let you keep going. You're abominations, the both of you." He continued to walk forward, and Arthur and Alfred just stood their ground, waiting for any possible catalyst to appear.

"Leave us alone! What have we ever done to you?" Alfred said in a strong, clear voice. It was like he had done this before, had played games with these hunters at an earlier date and escaped. It was very likely.

"Nothing. It's what you are doing to the world that matters. You don't belong here, either of you. Covered in blood… _monsters_," he spat at them.

Arthur lost it.

"How dare you talk to him like that! Who do you think you are?" he screamed. The hunter looked taken aback, but just smirked.

"You… you're new, aren't you? You have no idea what you've gotten yourself in to. I'm sorry I have to end your life so soon," reaching into his pocket at a small vial and held it up before his eyes. "You know what this is? It's Holy water. Now…" he pulled out the small cork and swished it within the vial, "You want to know what pain is like?" As soon as he said this, he threw the vial at Arthur, who let out a loud, inhuman scream as the substance burnt his skin like a highly concentrated acid. The hunters watched and laughed, letting their guard down for just a moment.

Alfred took this opportunity to run forward at an incredible speed, knocking over the offending hunter before them both. Arthur just stared down at his skin, watching as his scorched skin burned in pain. It was like no other pain he had ever experienced in his entire life, and it wouldn't stop… the burn was like a fire that could never be put out.

"Run!" Alfred yelled, "I'll deal with these fuckers, get away from here!"

Arthur stepped back quickly, watching as the guards looked up at him, no longer distracted. "No! I'm not leaving you!"

"Go, you idiot! I'll catch up in a minute… RUN!" Alfred was shouting at this point, and Arthur could do nothing but listen.

So he ran. A few of the hunters shouted and tried to follow him, but they were no match for the vampire speed. They shot their guns, which seemed to miss only by millimetres, scraping his skin and letting it burn with yet another searing pain. It must have been some special metal… silver, presumably, due to its purity. Arthur knew that he was an unclean spirit… but all he wanted now was for Alfred to be okay.

He ran and ran until the hunters were long gone. He was in an unfamiliar part of the town now, an area of which he had never dared to enter before. It was dark and creepy, yet nothing seemed to matter to him like that anymore.

Arthur looked around, checking the skies for Alfred. He kept his ears on high alert, waiting for him to come soaring up above him just to pick him up and take him back to his place. That's all he wanted…

He sat down against a wall of an abandoned house and waited. "Alfred…" he whispered, "Alfred?" this time he called it out a bit louder. Maybe he would hear him and come closer. Maybe Alfred was lost. Maybe he was just a little caught up, he would be fine.

Hours went by, and Arthur hadn't moved a single muscle. To the untrained eye, he would have appeared to be dead, just lying there against the wall. He stared into the sky, his dark emerald eyes glistening in the moonlight with tears that had yet to fall. He could tell that his skin had healed over by now as well, because all the pain had gone. There was only one thing that hurt.

"_ALFRED!" _He screamed out into the air, standing up, "Where the fuck are you? Get here right now or I'll… I'll…" Arthur said no more. He fell to the ground, sobs consuming his body. He didn't know what to do, what to say, where to go… He only half noticed when everything began turning brighter, and let out a small cry of pain as the sun itched his skin, turning into a harsh burn after a matter of seconds. He looked up at the abandoned house ad jumped inside it. It mustn't have been owned by anyone, so he could invite himself in. That was lucky, he guessed.

He found shade quickly by walking down into the cellar and curling up in a small ball on the floor. Alfred had said he would catch up in a few minutes. So where the hell was he?

Just then he recalled the words Alfred had said earlier that day:  
_I'm the hero, remember? And I'll keep you safe until the end, no matter what happens!_

Alfred had kept his promise until the very end, and now Arthur was safe.

Arthur understood now.

_Alfred Jones was dead._


	7. Epilogue

_August 19th, 1595_

It had been over a year now since that fateful day.

The vampire was sure the hunters had been tracking him down in the dead of the night. Of course, there had been many close calls; more than he could even count.

He ventured out of the cellar, heading up the stairs to look out the front window. It was a full moon this very night, and in the distance, he could swear he heard the howl of a wolf. A small smirk appeared on his face; he had grown to love the night. It was a time where he could let that monster inside of him run wild, the monster which he had only partially learned to embrace.

He resided in that cellar; everything that meant something to him was down there, which wasn't much. The vampire chuckled deeply as he picked up his cape and placed it over him, stepping in front of the mirror and adjusting it. His appearance hadn't changed since that day. He had deathly pale skin which contrasted strongly with his dark, emerald green eyes. Of course, it had taken him months to finally accept that this was now his reality, and he had done it completely alone.

There were many times in which he remembered a certain devil's advice. He didn't dwell on the past, but he focused on the present. In most cases.

However, there was never a day that went by that he didn't think of Alfred. The very thought of him caused him to stop and think, and the memory of the last time that they had been together would flash through his mind.

The only thing that kept him sane was the idea of avenging his death, or that extremely slim possibility that he was still alive somewhere on this earth. Those hunters may still be alive, and tonight he was going to beat them at their own game.

Killing was no longer a problem for the young vampire. Every night he would consume the blood of at least one human, which would fuel his existence for about twenty four hours. He felt no guilt after his actions.

Tonight was just another night. However, if he was to run into those hunters one more time, he would be ready to destroy them without hesitation.

For he was a vampire.

_Arthur Kirkland was a monster._


End file.
